Poussin told a friend that the aim of art is "delectation"; and although the statement is not entirely consistent with some of his earlier ideas, delectation is precisely what comes to mind as you engage with these astonishing paintings.

The programme was one of those in which a degraded family, or perhaps I should say a group of human beings who have lived in close association for some time or other, airs its appalling behaviour in public in return, I should imagine, for money, and for the prurient delectation of a voyeuristic audience.

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"We have come to believe we can do anything. We can do anything. Accepting that we no longer possess the powers of angels or of devils, that the world no longer exists for our delectation, demands that we do something few people in the rich world have done for many years: recognise that progress now depends upon the exercise of fewer opportunities."- 'Heat', George Monbiot.